Thursday 31 March 2011

The Princess Royal officially opens the Headquarters of the Academy of Medical Sciences

The Princess Royal today officially opened the first headquarters of the Academy of Medical Sciences at 41 Portland Place.  Burrell Foley Fischer's refurbishment of the John Adams townhouse provides a platform for Academy activities and includes Academy workspace, meeting rooms, a dedicated room for Fellows, space for small public exhibitions and functions rooms with capacity to host outreach events, receptions, dinners and public engagement activities.







See more photos of 41 Portland Place in our previous post

Friday 18 March 2011

Anna Joynt accepted onto RIBA Conservation Register

We are pleased to announce that Anna Joynt is amongst the first Architects to be accepted onto the new RIBA Conservation Register. Anna, an Associate in the practice, completed the post-graduate Buildings Conservation course at The Architectural Association in 2006, is listed on the Register of Architects Accredited in Building Conservation and is a member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings

Find out more about the Historic Building Conservation Services Anna can provide

Anna has been the Associate responsible for a number of projects involving the remodelling of existing buildings including a multi-purpose performance space in a large redundant, Listed Grade II, Church for the Godolphin and Latymer School. The church is a lofty gothic revival building designed by Willliam Butterfield, completed in 1859, and as it was originally built for a large 19th century congregation, the space can accommodate the whole of the 805 person school community for assemblies. Stage riser and variable height staging units were let into the nave floor to allow a number of different theatrical configurations and to encourage creative staging and theatrical balconies were inserted into the side aisles – an intervention which is both practical and symbolic of the transformation of the church.

Monday 7 March 2011

The Crucible shortlisted for LABC Award

The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, has been selected as a finalist for the LABC South Yorkshire & Humber Building Excellence Awards 2011 in the Best Restoration and Conversion category.  The Local Authority Building Control Awards recognise excellence achieved through building standards, technical innovation and sustainable designs.  As reported in our previous post the Crucible project has also been shortlisted for an Award from the RICS.

The Crucible Bar in the 1970s


The Crucible Bar today
The Crucible Theatre opened in 1971 and was designed by RHWL & Associates with Consulting Engineers Ove Arup and Partners.  Tanya Moiseiwitsch advised on the design of the world-renowned Guthrie thrust stage in the 980-seat main auditorium.  The theatre has been Listed, Grade II, as one of the most significant theatres of its generation.    

Tuesday 1 March 2011

BFF projects shortlisted for RICS Awards 2011

Three Burrell Foley Fischer projects have been shortlisted for the 2011 Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards.  The Kavli Royal Society International Centre at Chicheley Hall, in the Conservation category, The Crucible Theatre Sheffield, in the Community Benefit category, and new Dance Studios for the Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in the Sustainability category.  


The Kavli Royal Society International Centre at Chicheley Hall has been shortlisted in the South Eastern Region for a Conservation Award.



The refurbishment and remodelling of one of the country’s finest early Georgian Country House Estates, in Buckinghamshire, for the Royal Society.  The Centre runs a programme of major scientific meetings and policy forums at national and international level.

The Main Hall (Listed Grade 1) and the wings (Listed Grade II*) have been refurbished and remodelled to provide lecture rooms, meeting and seminar spaces, reception and dining rooms, together with 50 ensuite bedrooms.  The Coach House (Listed Grade II) has been converted to provide lecture theatres, meeting room, conference office and a registration and break out area in a new glazed enclosure.



The Crucible Theatre Sheffield has been shortlisted in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region for a Community Benefit Award.



The refurbishment and remodelling has revived and restored this Grade II Listed theatre. The front of house areas have been extended providing a new and welcoming frontage onto Tudor Square, new function rooms and allowing the box office to be moved from the bowels of the building closer to the main entrance.  The integrity of the original design has been reinstated and extended and the auditoria and back of house areas have been refurbished.

The hosting of the Annual World Snooker Championships at the Crucible has meant that its “community” is far wider than just Sheffield; it holds a special place in the affections of people across the country and internationally.  The development was phased to allow the championships to be held each spring, ensuring that the international showcase for Sheffield continued uninterrupted.



New Dance Studios at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts have been shortlisted in the East of England Region for a Sustainability Award.



The first phase of a three phase project for new, professional standard, performing arts facilities comprises five new dance studios set into a landscape of Registered Parks and Gardens and within the curtilage of two Grade II* Listed Buildings at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts.

The new studios are designed to sit comfortably in a green part of the site, taking a soft approach to its architectural form to mask its bulk and scale. The wild meadow grass roof, lowered eaves and randomly spaced timber posts along its elevations are designed so the building will ultimately recede into its wooded setting.

The building is constructed using an innovative and sustainable, prefabricated, structural timber wall and roof panel system, providing very high standards of thermal and acoustic insulation. The natural timber finishes, low energy use, good internal volumes and naturally illuminated interiors provide an inspiring environment for the teaching and practice of dance.